86 DOGS. 



nearly to the size of life. Compare them wuii 

 Wilson's, and what a difference in his favor. 



v 



LETTER XIX. 



Canandaigua, June^ 1820, 

 My Dear Sir, 



A dog was pointed out to me, as an Indian dog 

 which had a peculiar conformation. It had a 

 wild aspect— a long, flat head, slender muzzle, 

 erect ears, coarse hair, and a long, meagre body; 

 and if I might venture to give an opinion from 

 appearances only, I would say that the Indian 

 dog was originally a hybrid produced from the 

 union of a wolf and a fox. The internal struc- 

 ture of these animals is similar to that of the dog, 

 and there is a great sameness of external appear- 

 ance. 



Dr.. Robertson has said that the red men of 

 America had not tamed any animal. This is not 

 true. The dog was domesticated by them and 

 used in the north western tribes for draught as 

 well as for hunting 1 . In some of the south-west- 

 ern nations, the wild turkey and some other birds 

 were domesticated ; and in Peru, several animals 

 were reclaimed from their wild state. 



